ANI RAMEN GIFTCARD
Role: Visual Design/Typography
DURATION
2 weeks
TOOLS
Adobe Illustrator
TYPE
Gift Card
TOPICS
Client Analysis
Sketching
Typography
Vector Art
Monochrome
Modernism
OVERVIEW
PROJECT DETAILS
Before designing, I had to understand my client and their goals. I personally went to the location to truly observe the environment and atmosphere with some friends. This would help form my client analysis later on. I went online to see their various location and their evolution of design within their spaces. With my findings, I curated a mood board and a color scheme.
MY TASKS
Visiting the location and observing their aesthetics.
Reading through google reviews to gain insight from customers.
Curated a mood board and color palette.
Reviewed other restaurant gift cards.
GOALS
Brand is represented visually.
Encouraging customers to opt for this form of gifting.
Making it feel intentional rather than just some regular gift card.
Aligns with the retail space.
TARGET AUDIENCE
The primary targeted audience are the customers who are the ones coming in to dine. The design must also align to the stakeholders and marketing team. To continue and release the design, the gift card must follow the visual branding of the business.
CLIENT ANALYSIS
Ani Ramen celebrates one of Japanese iconic dishes and ramen houses. The space follows the aesthetic of Tokyo city night-life with the use of neon signs. The walls are black and white filled with drawings. The atmosphere is lit with yellow dimmed lights truly giving that city vibe.
Customer Reviews
"From the moment we walked in, the atmosphere felt warm and inviting—modern, clean, and with just the right vibe for a casual yet quality dining experience."
"It's a small, cozy, restaurant with a warm and inviting atmosphere."
"If you like having dinner with annoying rap music blaring at you then this is your place to eat. Not my scene!"
Attitude
After reading through the reviews and visiting the location, there are several key points on what attitude of the design should convey. The atmosphere is described to be inviting with a modern touch. However, the loud music is a pain point described by a customer. To address this, I decided to avoid using loud colors and bold shapes, opting for a calmer visual.
DESIGNING THE SOLUTION
The visual design will follow the modernism of Ani Ramen's atmosphere. The color scheme will be simple only consisting of black and white. This design choice mimics the iconic black and white walls. The design will include the following:
Vector art of ramen bowls sold at Ani Ramen
Typography mimicking chopsticks and noodles
Color scheme split in half to create balance
Sketches
1
2
3
4
The first sketch has typography using noodles for the text. It was not super modern looking¹.
The second sketch I wanted to place the ramen bowl in the middle to represent the Japanese flag with text surrounding the bowl. I wanted the text to be the main attraction and the bowl ended up being distracting².
The third sketch uses both the chopsticks and a more simpler text that mimicked noodles. This was much better visually for the user³.
The fourth sketch emphasized more of the text while featuring ramen bowls from Ani Ramen. This is the sketch I based most of my final design on⁴.
MOOD BOARD
I wanted to capture the walls of Ani Ramen with a black background and a white drawing on top. The vector art will represent the white drawings with fine line to bring more attention to the typography. The atmosphere of Ani Ramen is modern and sleek. The card will follow this with it's monochromatic look and simple shapes.
Color Palette
Typography
Vector Art
Final Design
CHALLENGES
Modernism can be restrictive in some ways. I did not want to overwhelm the design and stray away from the style. However, I did not want the design to be boring.
Carefully spacing the vector art and typography so there is no visual overload.
Creating typography that creatively represents the business visual branding while following the modern/sleek look.
Compensating for the lack of color with something that is visually intriguing for customers.
TAKEAWAYS
Colors can truly tell a story and help bring life to design. In this personal project, I wanted to challenge myself and learn to story tell with other visual elements. I used elements like contrast, shapes, and typography to align with the business visual branding.